Full Breakdown
Seahawks and Broncos Set to Clash in Rare Color-vs-Color Throwback Thursday
8/13/2026, 11:52:01 AM
The Upcoming Throwback Uniform Showdown
In Week 6 of the NFL season, the Seattle Seahawks will travel to Denver for a Thursday Night Football matchup that will feature both teams in colored throwback jerseys. The Broncos will don their “Orange Crush” uniforms—a design they revived in 2024 and have worn five times, winning each appearance. The Seahawks will wear a royal-blue jersey with a silver helmet, a look they used three times during their 2025 Super Bowl-winning campaign and will debut again in 2026. This will be the only color-vs-color game that week, as the Seahawks also wear the same throwback in the following week’s game against the Kansas City Chiefs.
How Rare Are Color-vs-Color Games?
Color-vs-color matchups have been uncommon since the league’s Color Rush experiment (2015-18). Since the start of the 2021 season, only four such games have occurred without a Color Rush uniform, and this will be the second since the 2024 season. The most recent example before this contest was a Week 15 game in the prior season when the Atlanta Falcons wore black against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ “Creamsicle” jerseys. Earlier instances include a Week 8 2023 game (Falcons black vs. Tennessee Titans baby-blue) and a Week 8 2022 game (Chicago Bears orange vs. Dallas Cowboys navy).
Numbers Behind the Uniforms
- Broncos’ Orange Crush throwbacks: 5 appearances, 5-0 record (2024-2025).
- Seahawks’ 1990s royal-blue throwbacks: 3 appearances during the 2025 championship season, now returning in 2026.
- Color-vs-color games since 2021 (non-Color Rush): four total, with this being the second in the 2024-25 calendar year.
- Historical division link: From 1977-2001, Seattle and Denver shared the AFC West, heightening the uniform rivalry.
Why the Matchup Matters
Beyond the visual novelty, the game revives a historic rivalry rooted in a former division partnership. Fans and analysts view the encounter as a celebration of NFL heritage, showcasing iconic designs while highlighting the league’s occasional departure from the traditional white-versus-color format. The rarity of both teams wearing colored throwbacks simultaneously adds a distinctive storyline to the Thursday Night Football slate and offers a nostalgic nod to past eras of the sport.
